I spent the Fourth of July in bed, sick. I really hate being sick, but I especially hate being sick in the summer. It feels so wrong when the weather is 100 degrees outside, and I am under the covers popping throat lozenges.
I spent several days, suffering in bed, watching true crime murder mysteries. I managed to make myself so afraid at night that I asked my daughter to let me borrow her dog for a few days to protect me from murderers. My daughter sighed, "Oh Mom," before agreeing to loan out her fierce, fluffy dog. But, let's be honest, if I am depending on him to protect me, I don't have much of a fighting chance.
My illness wasn't that bad. I managed to catch an annoying flu bug, so I don't want to over-dramatize the situation, but isn't it interesting how quickly our priorities change when we're dealing with health issues? Everything we could do with ease now becomes difficult. Feeling good isn't a given, but instead becomes a gift. Sleeping for a reasonable block of time feels like luxury. All of a sudden, I have a lot more time to talk to God.
Please God, let me feel better. Heal this body, Lord, and I'm sorry for filling it with junk food and not exercising it properly. Have pity on your daughter, God!. I pretty much repeat those prayers over and over, just in case God missed it the first time. Then, I walk around the house, lock the doors, and watch another episode of true crime until I fall asleep again.
Don't we hate it when life becomes interrupted? We have bills to pay, work to do, and appointments to attend. Our lives are complicated, fast-paced, and relentless. But, when God slows my life down in situations such as this, I have to wonder. Is all of the busyness of life focused on what truly matters? Are we so pre-occupied with our schedules that we can't be interrupted by the God who loves us perfectly?
I had plans for a Fourth of July party this week. I had work to do. I had an appointment with my bank. I needed to help the Ukrainian families. Days spent in bed battling a fever and a runny nose weren't in the plan.
While I certainly don't believe God wants to see me suffering with a flu, I do believe He will use all things to draw me closer to Him if I will simply allow it. He especially uses interruptions to change our focus back onto things that matter. Jesus' life was full of interruptions as He walked the earth.
Some interruptions are fairly minor, like my flu. Some are major, like divorce, serious health issues, or a death of someone close to us. I read a story recently about someone who was an innocent bystander during a violent shooting that happened twenty years ago. She was shot, seriously wounded, and still lives with effects from the shooting. Talk about a big-time life interruption.
I remember when our son was diagnosed with cancer at age 7. It was a moment where time stood still. In an instant, I had no idea what the future looked like. Would we have our son six months from now, or would be be planning a funeral? Would we be able to work while he battled this? Would my daughter stay in school? You can't schedule tragedy, you can only react to it and let the unknown unfold as you walk through it.
How do we handle interruptions to our life in a way that honors God?
1. Look for Jesus in the Interruption. The gospels recall a situation where the disciples are in the middle of a storm in a boat. They are terrified while dealing with this storm at night. Then, the craziest thing happens. They see someone walking on the water towards them and they think it is a ghost.
Matt Ch. 14: 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Can you imagine? Not only are they dealing with a storm, now they've got a ghost to deal with. Things are not going according to plan, and they're actually so terrified they cry out in fear. But, it wasn't a ghost at all. The disciples did not recognize Jesus in their storm. So, Jesus calmed them and told them not to be afraid. Later, He also calmed the storm. Their interruption with this unexpected storm was setting the stage for a miracle.
I wonder how often we don't recognize Jesus during our storms, because He doesn't look the way we expect Him to. But, He is far greater than we anticipated, working miracles and calming our storms.
2. Pay Attention To What's Broken. My car is notorious for breaking down. I am emotionally invested into this car, and I've fixed it many times. I refuse to pay for a new at the current prices, so I keep fixing up my old car.
Last year, the air conditioning went out in my car during the middle of July. In my part of the country, temperatures get well over 100 degrees in July. I was sweating like crazy, driving back and forth into work, trying to make do until I had time to fix my air conditioner. This happened during a busy week for me, and I was annoyed I had to take time away from work to get my car fixed once again.
After I took my car into the shop, I asked them to go ahead and do a full assessment on the vehicle. I had noticed it was running a little rough lately. In the assessment, they found a major issue with the car that was likely to leave me stranded if I didn't have it fixed. If the air conditioner hadn't gone out and required a fix, I would have likely continued driving my car in the current state and ruined my engine.
So often, interruptions are present in our lives to deal with things that are broken. It could be a problem with our health, a problem with a person that needs our attention, or even things in our lives that are broken. While the interruption might be an annoyance, focusing on what's broken now could save us further heartache down the road.
Many times the things we think are the problem are actually pointing to a bigger issue. This week, with my flu, I have a need to get better from my illness and heal my broken body. But, I had also over-scheduled myself and I needed to slow down and spend some time with Jesus. There was more broken than I originally realized. The extra time with God was very helpful for me to have some important realizations this week.
3. Use Interruptions to Refocus your life. All of us worship something, but perhaps it isn't God. It could be money, work, image, fame, or even ourselves. Interruptions can bring these false idols to light and allow us to refocus on what's important. Why was I so upset about taking a few hours off of work to get my air conditioner fixed? Yes, it was annoying, but my reaction was more than annoyance. My car is always breaking down, and I'm having to deal with it yet again. Co-workers are going to wonder why I don't just get a new car and I don't want to have to explain that I really can't afford to pay for a brand new car. Perhaps I need to get a handle on worrying about what others think.
With my son's diagnosis, things were refocused in an instant. Work didn't matter. Money didn't matter. Schedules didn't matter. We were panicked. After the shock wore off, there was a choice to trust God or to curse him for what had happened. I certainly didn't handle it perfectly but in the end, the entire experience allowed us to know our God better. Now, at nineteen years of age, my son's faith is pretty incredible. It wouldn't be nearly as strong without the cancer.
Remember, the enemy wants to use these interruptions to draw us away from God. But, God is stronger and smarter than our enemy. We can allow interruptions to drive us towards Jesus, not away from Him.
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